2016 Goals Check-In

With 2016 more than halfway over, I wanted to check in on the goals I set for myself this year.

1. Run a full marathon.

WHAT I SAID: I’ve mentioned many times that in 2016 I’ll train for and run my first full marathon. While I’ll do a number of activities to meet this goal, this will be my only running goal for the year.

UPDATE: I just started training with a coach, so I’m on track (pun intended!) for this!

2. Achieve balance between running and other important areas of my life.

WHAT I SAID: My husband likes to say that if I’m not running, I’m thinking about running, reading about running, talking about running, blogging about running, or shopping for running clothes. He’s right. While I met all my running goals for 2015, I can see that I did so at the expense of other things. This year, I want to achieve a better balance between running and

spending time with my husband, family, and friends

keeping up with the house

blogging

cooking

In practice, I’ll be planning each month out so that if I have a very high-volume week, I will likely do less cooking, housecleaning, and blogging and spending my little free time with my husband. In weeks I’m running less, I’ll be able to focus more on all those things.

UPDATE: I’ve done great with this goal! After my end-of-March goal half marathon, I devoted three months to making time for all of the above and having fun. It was awesome! When my volume ramps up in the next few weeks, I’ll likely need to scale back on housework, blogging, and cooking, but I’m okay with that because I know it’s coming. Also, I’ve fully prepared my husband for my limited availability to do much besides run and supplemental training in my peak weeks, so he knows it’s coming too. And after my November 6 race I’ll take the rest of the year off. I like this approach of achieving balance around training cycles.

3. Achieve an ideal weight based on the way I feel and the fit of my clothes, not the scale.

WHAT I SAID: This is a big departure from how I’ve always thought of weight management. I achieved my goal weight five years ago this month, and since then the number of my goal weight has always been on my mind. In 2015 I made huge strides in having a confidence with my body that I’d never had before and being happy with the way I look. And yet, all year I was over my goal weight and struggled to lose 3-5 pounds. In my mind, if I wasn’t at the goal weight I set five years ago, then I was a failure. I’m stopping that insanity right now. In talking with my sister, who works for Weight Watchers, she made me realize that it’s okay to change, that the goal weight I set five years ago may not be my ideal weight today, especially because it’s harder to maintain weight loss as I get older. This year I’m seeking a new goal weight, where I feel happy and confident with my body and the way I fit into clothes. Whenever that happens, I’m going to step on the scale, and that’s going to be my new goal weight. I can declare a new goal weight at Weight Watchers (as long as it’s in my healthy weight range for my height), so I should then be easily able to keep my free Lifetime Member status and stop the mentality of always feeling like I need to lose a few pounds.

UPDATE: Success! When I recently posted about the outcome of my Operation Lean & Strong effort, I reported that after losing weight, I stopped caring, started eating Twizzlers on the regular, and felt flabby again. I banned Twizzlers when I started marathon training a few weeks ago and…the flab is gone! I don’t talk much about my plant-based diet here because it’s sort of like talking about breathing air. I do it, it’s a part of my lifestyle, and it’s just not really exciting to me anymore. But because my diet is very high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes, it’s fairly easy and natural for me to eat healthy and thus maintain a healthy weight. It’s the sugary candy (Twizzlers and Swedish Fish) and snacks (potato chips, veggie chips, and pretzels) that sabotage my maintenance. As soon as I significantly reduce them, the flab disappears and I’m back at a good weight. I’ve met my two measures of fitting into a pair of Athleta pants that were tight and being comfortable running in shorts. I also recently bought a new bikini (from Athleta’s current semi-annual sale) for a boating/swimming party this weekend and am pretty happy with how I look in it. I’m not skinny, and I have far from a perfect body. But I’m strong, healthy, and my body powers me through intense training, so what’s not to love?

The only part of this equation I haven’t figured out is Weight Watchers. I know leaving the program is the right thing for me because I need to learn to maintain my weight without having to track. But I’ve been with it for so long that it’s hard to let go. So, that piece is still a work in progress.

My main goal for the rest of the year is to simply eat well during training. I know that many people gain weight while marathon training, and maybe I will too if I gain muscle. But I’m determined not to gain weight because I get lazy with my eating and start eating a lot of junk.

Comments

I’ve found that it was very difficult for me to have any kind of personal “balance” in my life during marathon training. It was so much that I finally couldn’t wait till it was over. I hope you continue to find balance as you have!

You are doing great – I really need to do a goals check in- thank you for the reminder! Your goals have been so thoughtful and sensible!Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC recently posted…Chicago Marathon Training Recap, Week 6

Sugary treats are just the worst… I was hearing the other day on a podcast where body building people eat them before going on stage because it makes you POP – the sugar makes things swell. My body looks POPPED every day I eat it 🙂 haha

Great job on your goals! It sounds like you’re right on track. I love that you feel good about striking a balance in your life between running and other things.Chaitali recently posted…Watermelon Salad

I didn’t set very many goals for 2016, and I think that worked out for the best. My current goal for 2016: SURVIVE. Between full-time work, blogging (which is basically a full-time job too), working out, house projects, wedding/honeymoon planning, cooking/cleaning/chores… The amount of things I have to keep up with is crippling. Trouble is, everything on my list is very important to me, so unloading things off my plate isn’t really an option. As much as I would like to have lofty goals in each area, it would be crazymaking right now. 🙂Suzanne recently posted…How to Afford Luxury Workout Clothes on a Budget

Definitely! Being able to do all those things is a huge goal in itself! When you have so many huge things to accomplish, it’s absolutely crazymaking to try to focus on other things. Good that you realize that!

You are doing great! You do look strong and very fit in all your pics. I think strength training for me is what has helped the most, I still struggle with getting to my goal – I am much older LOL and even though i love running more, I think the weight training makes a huge difference. I go through phases with it and right now I am slacking, I am not motivated after 10 hours days, but I know this too shall pass and I will get back to it. During training it is hard to fit other things into the schedule, but maybe after the race you can really focus on weights more and take a little running break and see if helps you 🙂Karen Bayne recently posted…How One Week Bleeds to Another

I agree about strength training! I always credit strength training to enabling me to lose weight. I also think that after marathon training it will be easier to focus on strength. It’s very hard to focus on both!

It sounds like you’re right on track, like you said! I know how hard it is to break ties with something like WW. It becomes a nice safety net and familiar comfort zone. If it’s not harming your process, I don’t see why sticking with it awhile longer just for comfort’s sake is a problem. But if it’s beginning to feel like a waste of money, I bet you’ll feel really good if you drop it. You’ll realize you really can self-monitor without it AND you’ll have extra cash to spend on running clothes 🙂

That’s a good way to look at it. I am beginning to feel like it’s a waste of money since I don’t use it at all, but I also feel that each day I get closer to being able to leave the program completely. I think I’m almost there!

I may be printing this out to hang above my training plan this fall: But I’m strong, healthy, and my body powers me through intense training, so what’s not to love?
Awesome progress on your goals!Jessica S recently posted…Building a marathon plan

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Welcome

Running is no fun if you don't look cute doing it! In this blog I share my passion for running and activewear. I'm chronicling my ever-evolving journey as a runner. I also post activewear reviews, healthy plant-based recipes, and pictures of my greyhound and kitties. Read more about me. Thanks for visiting!